By HECTOR CASTRO, CASEY MCNERTHNEY AND KERY MURAKAMI, P-I REPORTERS

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, January 16, 2008

A parolee being held in a state prison facility is being investigated in connection with the New Year's Eve killing of Sierra Club worker Shannon Harps, but Seattle police were declining to call the man a suspect Wednesday night.

The 29-year-old man, who has a history of violent assaults against women, was picked up for violating conditions of his parole several days after the killing and is being held in the state correctional facility at Monroe awaiting Department of Corrections proceedings.

Harps, 31, was stabbed repeatedly about 7:10 p.m. New Year's Eve near her condominium in the 1500 block of East Howell Street. Police have been circulating a sketch of a man said to have left the scene while others rushed to Harps' aid, but that bearded man hasn't been named, and investigators are still calling him a "person of interest."

Seattle police would not confirm whether the man being held in Monroe was a suspect or even a person of interest in the Harps case.

"We do not have anyone in custody for this homicide," spokeswoman Renee Witt said.

Court records show the man has a lengthy criminal history, and was arrested Jan. 4 when police say he violated terms of his community custody, the state version of parole. The man was booked into the King County Jail on Jan. 5 and released to the Department of Corrections on Jan. 9.

Detectives first questioned the man after a tipster contacted police to tell them the man had made statements about the case in the days following the killing. He was found to have been drinking at the time police contacted him, a violation of the terms of his supervision, and for which he was arrested.

The man, who has a history of drug abuse and violent assaults on women, has made several threats to kill people, is an artist who used his own blood as ink, and once attacked a bouncer with a box cutter, according to court documents. The Seattle P-I normally does not name suspects in criminal investigations unless they are formally charged.

A woman who took out a no-contact order on the man after he was convicted of assaulting her three years ago said she was shocked Wednesday night to learn he was being investigated in connection with Harps' death.

"I tried to protect myself further," said the woman of the court order. She asked that her name not be published for her protection. "This is horrifying. I absolutely never saw this coming."

The man first came to the attention of homicide detectives after police received a tip regarding incriminating comments he had made following Harps' killing, police sources said.

Photos from the state DOC show the suspect was bearded when he was last in state custody in 2004 and authorities said he does bear a resemblance to the sketch of the suspect police artists put together from the statements of witnesses who saw a man running from the scene of the stabbing.

He has not yet been formally connected to the slaying, but sources familiar with the investigation said police collected evidence near the scene of the crime that will be examined for any connection to the man.

Police said he has a lengthy history of violence against women. On Oct. 28, 2003, Seattle police arrested him after he beat up a girlfriend. The woman told police her boyfriend came home drunk and punched her in the face several times after they began arguing about his drinking.

"He told her he could kill her slowly and painfully, and this would fulfill his fantasy," the officer wrote in his report.

The woman escaped later when the man left to walk their dog.

On Nov. 12, 2004, police arrested the man again, this time for trying to pick fights with people walking along Broadway East in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Officers watched as he intentionally got in the way of pedestrians, yelling and screaming, tossing a milk carton at some. The man reportedly told the officers that he was having an argument with his girlfriend and felt like fighting someone.

His most recent conviction came after a July 4, 2005, assault against a 52-year-old single mother who had agreed to rent her basement to him.

He was convicted of second-degree domestic violence assault and sentenced to nine months in jail. He also was ordered to enter alcohol treatment and a domestic violence treatment program and provide a sample of his DNA.

But he had trouble staying out of jail. He was arrested Aug. 1 for violating terms of his court ordered supervision and remained in custody until Aug. 28.

The man also has convictions in Florida and Georgia, including drug charges and eluding police.

On Capitol Hill, news of a possible break in the case was greeted with some sense of relief. The killing sparked a community meeting last week in which Mayor Greg Nickels and police officials assured the public that they were following several leads in the case.

On 15th Avenue East near Group Health Cooperative, close to where Harps was killed, women walking by were relieved Wednesday evening to hear someone was in custody for the vicious stabbing. "My guy friends are going to be relieved," Rochelle Wilson said. "Ever since it happened, they've been offering to walk me everywhere."

Barbara Beck, 48, who was walking out from her yoga class at Yoga Arts in the 100 block of 15th Avenue East, said she's been nervous every time she walks through her back door. But she hasn't been overly worried, she says, because Capitol Hill is usually safe.